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 Think before you act. Though Facebook is a fast paced environment, it is important to think before responding to content you agree or disagree with. Debates on social media, particularly when they concern one’s own religion, are often emotionally charged and focus more on prompt replies than accuracy, logic and truth.150 Conclusion A theme that has been observed in the assessment of the conflict landscape in Myanmar is the marginalisation of minority groups and the lack of cohesion among the estimated 135 ethnic groups. Because of this, it is important to give a voice to nonBamar ethnic voices through social media and online campaigns. As chapter two addressed, the freedom of social media can cause significant social harms, but this freedom can similarly be used to support tolerance and acceptance. The initiatives that have been discussed throughout this chapter should aim to promote the acceptance of Myanmar as a multi faith country and tolerance between different faiths. Interfaith Facebook campaigns, media training to encourage awareness of the subjectivity of online content, and creating space for balanced dialogue both online and offline, are all useful ways to use the media’s freedom to promote tolerance and peace. Though it is difficult to measure the success of particular interventions as we cannot be sure the decline of hate speech in a particular case is down to that one campaign, there have been certain cases discussed here where we can observe a measurable impact, and where pressure from the public has resulted in change. 150 Foxman and Wolf, (2013) pp.141-143. - 62 -

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Religion, hate speech and social media in Myanmar: Analysing methods of intervention

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Language

English

Topic

Hate Speech
Rohingya Crisis

Author(s)

Bethany Davis

Date Published: Dec 1, 2015

Abstract: Myanmar is home to one of the longest running intrastate conflicts in the world, involving a series of ethnic and religious clashes that have caused harm to all parties involved. The ideology of a homogeneity based on Buddhism and the Bamar ethnicity has marginalized minority groups, which make up a third of the population, and has particularly affected the Rakhine state’s Buddhist and Muslim communities, the latter of which are subject to what international human rights organizations are calling an ethnic cleansing. Since the government relaxed restrictions to the access of foreign websites, the social media site Facebook has become a popular means to disseminate misinformation and rumours, and this has created mistrust and hatred against Muslims across the country, heightening the polarization between Buddhist and Muslim groups. This study will combine conflict analysis with the assessment of different approaches of countering hate speech to propose which methods of intervention are most suitable for this situation in Myanmar. Lederach argues that to counter hatred and avoid reoccurrence of violence, deep alterations of the parties’ relationships is needed. This idea forms the basis for chapter three which examines educational methods, interfaith projects and social media campaigns to both prevent and change negative attitudes towards the religious ‘Other’. It argues that education and awareness campaigns are more effective than the implementation of legal regulation as we need to combat the underlying issue. In addition to secondary sources, this study involved field research to collect information about how the youth are influence by hate speech and counter hate campaigns in Myanmar.

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Myanmar Internet Project

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Religion, hate speech and social media in Myanmar: Analysing methods of intervention

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